ZedDash

Handmade ‘villages’ of spoons that first sprouted on nature strips have brought welcome enjoyment, especially for children, amid the coronavirus

During the first wave of the coronavirus, one could barely walk a block in an Australian suburb without seeing a teddybear peeking through a window.

Aimed at brightening children’s days as the world around them became increasingly gloomy, the uplifting activity slowly died out as the pandemic dragged on.

For a while, it seemed this wave of community spirit was over, but then something peculiar started popping up on nature strips around the country.

Gaggles of spoons, adorned with googly eyes, pipe-cleaner arms and feather hats have started appearing anywhere there is soft dirt, from lawns, flower pots and gardens to public parks.

Creating these spoon villages or “Spoonvilles” is becoming a lockdown craze for kids and adults alike.

All you need to start one is some publicly accessible land, a sign reading “Spoonville” and a character or two. It’s then up to others in the neighbourhood to make their own cutlery villagers and join the crowd.

The activity has been particularly popular in Melbourne, where residents are still in stage-four lockdown. Much like the teddybear hunts, the idea is to ensure children still feel they are part of a community despite being unable to see their friends and neighbours in person.

Anthi Baloukeserlis is godmother to five-year-old Percie, who has autism, and works as his assistant therapist. She said their Spoonville project had been a lifesaver.

“Since lockdown, obviously he can’t go to daycare, and everything has been on and off and we found that he has regressed. Things that he knew in the past, he has forgotten,” she said.

“Since we made them on Saturday, he hasn’t stopped talking about it. It’s just benefited him so much in these last few days. It’s amazing.”

Dr Caroline Moul, a child development expert at the University of Sydney, said activities like Spoonville and the teddybear hunt were a great way to keep children engaged in the community.

“All these initiatives are trying to make the situation as bearable as possible,” she said. “They are all such lovely things to engage kids in.”

It remained unclear exactly what effect lockdowns would have on childhood development.

“The biggest difficulty with this situation is that none of us has ever experienced this before,” Moul said. “It’s been pretty challenging across the whole range of childhood and ages.”

While Spoonville has been great for children, Moul said they weren’t the only ones benefiting from the initiative.

“On a deeper level, it’s a form of connection. As people, we naturally want to connect and be part of something bigger. When that is taken away from us – like in this situation – it’s natural to want to engage,” she said. “Any initiative that helps see a child happy, to see them engaged and joyful, makes everyone else happy as well.”

Mount Gambia resident Sharleigh Tuthill has been creating spoons with her nephew Zachariah but said the activity had also helped her battle addiction and transition to life after rehabilitation.

“It’s keeping me busy. It keeps me off the street,” she said. “I get a lot of cravings so it’s good to have just something to keep my mind busy and keep my hands busy.”

In fact, three generations in Tuthill’s home are mastering the craft of making spoon villagers.

“My mum is getting involved too,” she said. “She had a stroke a few years ago so it’s just been something to get her mind active, and her hands active too.”

The Spoonville trend began in the UK and was brought to Australia several months ago by Junelle Wilson after she saw it online.

She told Melbourne radio station 3aw there had been a rush on wooden spoons in some areas.

“I have known one suburb that ran out of spoons at the local shop and obviously they can’t go to another suburb, and some locals have to make their own out of wood, which is really beautiful,” she said.

Myriad spoon-based Facebook groups have popped up, such as Spoonville Australia and Spoonville Melbourne, but the most popular page is Spoonville International, which shows spoon villages across the world.

The characters now range from plastic teaspoons with texta smiley faces to beautifully painted characters from movies and TV. One person used the Spoonville project to pay homage to the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, complete with his Northface jacket.

For days, Percie’s Spoonville was limited to the four founding members that he and his godmother created. But on Tuesday morning, Baloukeserlis said he went out to the nature strip to see two more citizens had joined.

“He is over the moon,” Baloukeserlis said. “I think it’s benefited a lot of children because they can see results. They can see that people are contributing. I think it’s brilliant.”

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaJmlqMGzrcuimGamlazAcH6Pa2doq5WlfHF%2Bjppkn6eionqwsoycpqemlZjBqrvNZqqpp5%2Bjw6q4y55knKqRr7JuvsSvoK%2Bdo2KwsLnMrqWirKliwLG10aKrZqGeYq62v9OrmKWhkQ%3D%3D